ZAMBOANGA CITY — Vice President and Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Sara Z. Duterte and Senator Francis ‘TOL’ N. Tolentino will grace the Mindanao regional games of the ongoing 2023 Philippine ROTC Games (PRG).
Tolentino, who is the honorary chairman of PRG, said the Vice President will be the event’s guest of honor and speaker during the opening of the tournament’s Mindanao leg, which will kick off from August 27 until September 2.
Tolentino stressed that the presence of the Vice President in the PRG is a big boost in raising awareness for the said tournament, considering that she’s the incumbent Education secretary and an active colonel in the military reserve force herself.
The upcoming Mindanao leg of the PRG comes a week after the successful hosting of the inaugural regional tournament in Iloilo City, which featured cadet athletes from various provinces in the Visayas in different sports such as track and field, basketball, kickboxing, boxing, arnis, and volleyball.
The senator added that the lessons learned in the tournament in Iloilo City will serve as a guide and benchmark for the organizers in the upcoming tournaments.
The Mindanao regional games will be followed by the Luzon leg, which will be held in Tagaytay City from September 17 until 23.
The cities of Manila and Pasig will host the National Capital Region leg from October 8 to 14 as well as the National Championships from October 22 to 27.
The PRG spearheaded by Tolentino aims to promote the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) by specifically encouraging the development of grassroots sports programs; training young athletes for international competitions; promoting physical education; and fostering self-discipline, teamwork and excellence.
It involves the ROTC units of the main service branches of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP)–the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy. (ai/mnm)
